Tesla Model S loses Consumer Reports recommendation

Tesla stock plunged Tuesday after a Consumer Reports survey found that advanced fuel-saving technology and digital multimedia systems were hurting the Model S in reliability. Vehicles from several other automakers were dinged in the reliability report.

Beck Diefenbach/Reuters/File

A Tesla Model S with version 7.0 software update containing autopilot features is seen during a Tesla event in Palo Alto, Calif.

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October 20, 2015

By Joseph WhiteReuters

Detroit

Advanced fuel-saving technology and digital multimedia systems in vehicles, including the Tesla Model S sedan, are hurting reliability, Consumer Reports magazine found on Tuesday in its annual survey of vehicle reliability.

Tesla's stock fell 10.2 percent following the report, which found owners reported "an array of detailed and complicated maladies" in their Model S sedans.

There is "an emerging trend of increased troubles" with many vehicles that use new transmission technology to boost mileage, the magazine said. The latest reliability survey was to be presented by the magazine's editors at a meeting of Detroit's Automotive Press Association.

The Model S, one of the most technologically adventurous cars on the market, registered a worse than average reliability score based on survey responses from 1,400 owners, Consumer Reports found.

The battery powered Model S P85D was recently lauded by the magazine's editors for racking up the best scores ever in its performance tests. But owners complained of rattles, leaks, and problems with the charging equipment, drivetrain and center console displays, Consumer Reports said.